As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
With the advent of power-hungry information handling systems, power management has become more important. In the past, power conservation has often been a secondary consideration to speed and processor availability. However, due to the increased processing demands required by modern information handling systems, more information handling systems utilize multi-processor systems and/or multiple-blade systems that require more power to operate than single-processor computer systems. In addition, as processor designs continue to scale up in speed and density, corresponding power consumption can increase dramatically, requiring more efficient power management.
While processing demands and device consumption are often driving factors in the desire for managing and conserving power, other factors such as network failures, blackouts, and other device, system, or mechanical failures may also motivate a desire to reduce and efficiently manage power consumption. Current solutions often employ a power source management, sequencing, and conservation technique to handle inrush and steady state load demands, as well as redundancy and efficiency requirements of power sources.
In addition, in certain applications (e.g., Internet servers), multiple redundant power supplies are often employed to reduce or eliminate downtime in the event of a power supply failure. In many redundant power supply systems, all available power supplies are generally brought online and share the power requirements of the system. However, in many instances, each power supply may become more efficient as the power delivered from it increases. Thus, if many redundant power supplies are online and sharing a relatively small load, the individual redundant power supplies may be operating relatively inefficiently.